Reviews

I felt really connected to this movie. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw it for the first time.

Dev Patel has truly blown it out of the water for his directional debut. This was such a rich, gritty, exciting story. I could tell he was so ready to embody this character, and I can't imagine anyone else in this role. From the incredible environment/world-building, amazing soundtrack, engaging choreography, and gripping story, this is one you don't want to miss.

The only real problem I can think of with this film was the camera work. The visual language was quite muddy to me, and I wished they'd reel in the shaky cam a little bit so I could actually see what was going on. This film definitely could have expanded more on the characters as well, but it was also really captivating to see Kid's tunnel vision on his goal and how he manages to achieve it.

The inclusion of the Hijra community made me so happy. I really hope to see a mainstream audience come away from this movie curious about the culture and inclined to learn more. Bringing them into this movie and using them as a pillar of strength was such a smart move, and I really appreciate Patel for telling this story about underdogs, faith, and strength.

I really hope this movie gets the attention it deserves. I would love to see this film excel, and I hope to see Patel and Peele work on films together in the future.

I watched this movie for my Cinema and Television Arts class. I thought the first half was really solid; the story was really interesting and it had a lot of funny moments, mainly between Mrs. Robinson and Ben.

That being said, I didn't really like the second half. After Elaine discovered the affair, I didn't enjoy the jarring changes in character and the bizarre choices the characters began to make. Scenes felt less and less cohesive, especially with Elaine and her feelings towards Ben. I know the uncertainty is all meant to encapsulate the rush of young love or whatever but it was just sort of...lame.

Entertaining story though.

Rosamund Pike shines in this role. I can't imagine anyone else portraying Amy like she does.

I love how this story strings you along. I went from worrying about her, thinking Nick was the villain, to realizing that she had everything under control and was playing him all along. She was such a terrifyingly intelligent and striking protagonist, and watching her work through each and every step of her plan was mesmerizing. I loved her diary entries; just amazing monologue after monologue.

The films portrayal of the complexities of a marriage were just so captivating and deeply chilling. Such an engaging and thorough story, one that I'll definitely remember.

These days it's hard to find a movie that really leaves the theatre with you. I love going to the movies but when I leave, the movie stays. It's good, it's fun. But Saltburn was a film that really stuck with me after my first viewing. So much so, that I ended up watching it like 4 more times that month. So here are my thoughts.

This movie had an amazing soundtrack, good pacing, gorgeous visuals, vibrant colors, an incredible cast, great costume design, and a knowing, confident visual language. I loved how all these elements contributed to the story, and making this a period piece was just genius. It had this energy about it (probably brought in mostly from Jacob Elordi and his aura) that just made it all so exciting. That's why it was such a spectacle to see it all come crashing down in the third act.

That being said, I felt like the reveal was probably tooting its own horn a little too hard. We had already established Oliver's strange behavior, and while it was surprising to backtrack and see his "master plan", it was a little ridiculous to see how perfectly things fell into place for him. But I still loved his whole reveal. And the incredible dance at the end. That looked so therapeutic.

After coming away from the movie and having time to sit on it, I'd say that even though I've read so many people saying this movie is too pretentious or a tumblr treasure trove, I say we let a good movie speak for itself. This is such a creative and fun movie that I'd highly recommend, cinephile or not.

Also, Barry Keoghan absolutely killed this role. What a little freak.

I really liked the cast of this movie, I thought they did an excellent job portraying these characters. The writing was pretty good, I really liked the satisfying dialogue and way of speech Lucy adopted - It was intense and compelling throughout, and it did a good job expanding on the Hunger Games universe.

That being said, the soundtrack was kind of lacking. I felt as though some of the character decisions were bizarre and out of character, and the twist felt like it came out of nowhere. This movie, while expansive to the cinematic universe of the Hunger Games, didn't feel particularly aligned with the original series.

It was definitely a lot better than I thought it would be. The personal relationships mixed well with the politics and I found that the sets, costumes, cast, and dialogue all really stood out to me.

But being that I'm writing this review a while after seeing the movie and I'm referring to my notes, I think it's telling that this was a little forgettable for me personally. Somehow Snow managed to look like Malfoy and Slim Shady at the end once he shaved his head and that's probably the most memorable thing about this movie.

I'm not ashamed to admit I watched this movie purely to see Josh Hutcherson play a sassy robber. The idea was very intriguing and I was excited to see him in a more serious, morally compromised role.

I thought this movie had a lot of extremely strong elements. The small cast and compelling story right from the start made the whole experience more intense and confined. It was suspenseful and surprising all the way through, and expertly subjects viewer expectations. I found myself questioning near the beginning who the real villain would be. The music was also helpful in pushing that dramatism, I love the use of violin.

But when it comes to the rape scene, I think that it was filmed/directed in a way that felt sexually exploitative, and the film didn't necessarily treat the situation with the gravity it deserved. I wish they'd demonized Melinda's actions more rather than pity her, and try to make us think she's some poor, lonely, misunderstood girl. I can see the twisted approach the director takes to loneliness, but that doesn't mean what she did wasn't deranged and psychotic.

I'm upset that she got away in the end. It's not forbidden to have a bad ending like that in a film, but I worry about how audiences interpret her character. Some reviewers seem to sympathize with her.

Anyway, overall amazing movie. It felt like it would make for a really good Puppet Combo or Chilla's Art horror game. I'm disappointed that I couldn't find more interviews or trailers for this thing, it deserves more love. Very well made.

Like many others, I watched this movie for Aaron Paul. I was interested in the premise and I was excited to see him in this role. There were some good elements, though I think it's safe to say he carried this movie; that is to say he does the best with what he's given. The cinematography had some excellent moments. The suspense was great, I found myself reacting to all the intense scenes with fear and excitement. There are a few well written scenes and well edited moments. I really liked the music, and there were so many unnerving moments.

But there were a lot of elements that were pretty average, or subpar. There were a lot of convenient, completely unrealistic events and character decisions present only to serve the plot. Some things are really over explained, which is unfortunate as it really muddles any cool symbolism it might've had because it's spelled out for the viewer (i.e. The rabbit allegory). There is a lot more bad writing that kind of outweighs the good.

And worst of all, no one prepared me for the amount of sexual assault in this movie! Luckily this wasn't deeply troubling to me, but someone else may have trouble with this. There are 2 scenes in which each main character is tricked/drugged and coerced into non-consensual sexual activity. That was kind of a lot.

Anyway, this movie had the potential to be really interesting and intense, but unfortunately it's just kind of average. Much love to Aaron Paul though.

Absolutely fantastic all the way through. The art style was rough enough to feel human, but not so rough that it looked unprofessional; this movie is POLISHED. Between the rough brush strokes, incredible colors, and great facial expressions, the art is absolutely perfect. This movie was a visual feast.

The voice acting was great, especially the delivery. The dialogue felt so authentic and real. The action scenes were intense and fun, and I liked the references to pop culture and modern language. It really helped the characters come to life.

I could go on about how much I love this movie, but I did observe some flaws. It was quite childish, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes for a more limited audience. I went to see this movie with my parents, who did not enjoy it nearly as much as I did. A lot of the "gross-out" humor and the art style was rather unappealing to them. That's something to keep in mind.

I really felt that the emotional moments were sidelined for the sake of comedy, and although all the jokes were funny, it was disappointing to see these dramatic moments not hit as hard because they substitute out the angst for another laugh. This is to be expected with a movie for kids, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

The best example I can give is in the finale, when their shells cracked from the force of Superfly's grip; that scene was intense. But that had no lasting impact on our heros. I was hoping for more of that angst, especially because of the bond the brothers had with each other; it was arguably the best part of the movie.

But yes, excellent movie. I cannot recommend it enough.

This movie blew my mind. The cast, writing, and editing were incredible. The costumes and environments were so well done, insane attention to detail and historical accuracy. And best of all, I loved the powerful message of this film; all of the amazing elements really came together to emphasize their message about nuclear weapons and human creation. I thought the conclusion was just incredible.

It had a few notable flaws; the music in particular didn't really stand out to me. I thought the pace was weirdly inconsistent; half the time the story moved along very quickly, and the other half of the time we'd stop and focus on one particular aspect for a longer period of time. Some of the lines were difficult to understand, which I think is just a result of the way Christopher Nolan chooses to mix the audio for his movies.

I personally don't consider myself a fan of history movies, so I went into this movie expecting not to enjoy it, and to find it boring (especially with the runtime). And while there were a lot of points that were boring, I can admire the expert film-making. The message was the most important part to me, and I couldn't see anyone bring that message across like Christopher Nolan. The suspense was amazing; I seriously loved the choice of using deafening silence in place of moments where it's meant to be loud. That was a very dramatic, effective strategy to capture the viewer's attention and create tension. And with the historical accuracy of this movie, it felt like experiencing the history first-hand. Absolutely incredible work.

Just please include an intermission next time you plan to make a 3-hour long movie!

This movie got so much hate when it first came out; I could not believe the reaction people had to this. A lot of the hate can be attributed to this movie's awful marketing, how it was marketed as some hot lesbian chick flick, only to serve a more compelling story about girlhood and high school evils.

I thought the story was interesting. The music, acting, and costumes were all great (I love all of Megan Fox's iconic looks in this movie). And of course, Megan Fox killed it (literally).

It's not perfect, though. The practical effects translate pretty poorly and end up looking like bad CGI. I think a lot of writing choices and coincidences are sort of weird, like how Needy and Jennifer are telepathically connected. There's some pretty blaring plot holes.

Worst of all, the lesbian relationship being portrayed here seems like maybe it was only included to exploit Megan Fox's bisexuality and for advertising purposes. Maybe if this sapphic relationship was shown in a way that wouldn't just exploit lesbians for more viewers. The seeds were planted for their relationship, but they didn't really grow at all. Wouldn't it have made sense for Jennifer to have attacked Collin out of jealousy that Needy thought he was cute, or something like that? That might have been the case but it wasn't really clear. If their relationship meant nothing romantic, why even include the scene of them making out in the first place? But we know why.

Anyway, I loved this movie. It gets a bad rap.

Leading up to the day I went to see this movie, I avoided as much advertising as I could as to avoid spoilers and go in entirely blind. But that being said, I learned very late that Greta Gerwig was the director of this film, and therefore, was not prepared for the emotional journey I was about to be taken through.

This movie was unique, creative, fun, and so special. The music was excellent, the cast was wonderful, the costumes were amazing, it was funny, and the choreography was fun.

As for it's flaws, this movie did have some uneven pacing. I felt that some side plot stuff was unnecessary (namely, most of the Mattel chase). Sometimes it was just very confusing for the sake of making audience members existential, the ending felt abrupt, and there was little justice by the end of the movie (though perhaps this was more of a conscious choice on behalf of the filmmakers to convey the endless, feminist fight).

I was happy to see how this film really explored the female experience. From growing up to objectification by men. I was shocked to see Ken claim to love Barbie, only to objectify and hurt her later on; it was truly reminiscent of many elements in real life. Overall the tone and look of this movie was very unique and I enjoyed it a lot.

I didn't expect to cry during the fun, silly Barbie movie I had been so excited to see, but I'm glad it was as emotional as it was.

This movie was really funny, a lot funnier than I expected it to be. The sound effects and music were good, I liked the meta-casting with Michael Keaton, and there were some pretty cool and unique visual choices. The outlandish nature of certain scenes and comedic moments really worked for me. I think some moments were cute and really sweet.

But some really awful elements can't be overlooked. If we ignore the entire issue of Ezra Miller himself, the CGI is just awful and terribly uncanny. The ending drags a lot and was a big let down. There's no real conclusion as to leave room for a sequel; the side characters are generic and unnecessary. And the worst part of it all is that the film used CGI to reprise George Reeves' role as Superman for NO REASON after the actor allegedly ended his own life because of this role. This movie even released on his death date as if this would serve as any meaningful tribute to this tortured man's legacy. This was extremely insensitive.

Overall I liked the humor and edginess; it's something Marvel movies always miss for me that I think works really well in the superhero film format. But aside from some good jokes and moments here and there, I think this movie's issues really can't be overlooked or ignored. The good does NOT outweigh the bad here.

I'm gonna tear into this so let's go over some of the positives. Jason Momoa did pretty well in this movie, I felt like his character was unexpectedly delightful in his evil and he was pretty funny. There were a few cool moments in the many action scenes. Jakob and Brian were pretty funny. The titles and graphics were cool. The weird CGI shot that ended the film was cool; at least it was something different. The main women had action scenes that were surprisingly not sexualized (I know, the bar is low, but I expected worse).

But let's face it: This movie's writing was awful. The plot holes were unquestionable. This movie was cheesy, predictable, and lacked any creativity at all. The comedy was just bad. This franchise as a whole talks down to viewers and explains every little detail in lazily done exhibitions that spell literally everything out. I liked Momoa, but he basically just played the joker but worse. This movie is so unrealistic but it's based in reality and expects you to believe too many ridiculous stunts; yes, I know it's for fun, and it's not supposed to be believable, but please explain WHY a room full of guards has guns that can be turned off remotely. What are they connected to, the wifi??

This movie is a little boy's dream: fast cars, sexy girls, guns, violence and action. But every dream has to end sometime. This movie was long, convoluted, unfunny, and overwhelmingly corny. The budget must be divided between stunts and big name actors, which you can bet leaves absolutely nothing for a good script.

Let's start with the positives. The CGI was great as always, and the animals looked really good. Some of the jokes really landed for me because of the great delivery. There were lots of creative designs littered throughout this movie (like both the organ and skull ship. So cool). I really like that they fleshed out Rocket's story.

Unfortunately I think Marvel's sense of humor will never be for me. Some of the jokes really cut through emotional moments and scenes, or just don't land at all. Young Rocket's voice was completely awful and I can't even imagine why they wouldn't just hire an actual child. The villain was so obnoxious, and not in an entertaining or intimidating way. There were so many characters. Characters were sidelined. Plot holes were made. The conclusion was rushed and clunky; it feels like things just happened so quickly and for pretty much no reason. Why even try to trick us into thinking Star Lord was going to die with the thick plot armor he wears?

I want to address that of course I felt like Rocket's backstory was emotional and I think it was well done but I couldn't find myself getting nearly as attached to these characters as other viewers. I don't know why.

I see improvement in Marvel's output. This was definitely an improvement over projects like Eternals, or Thor: Love and Thunder. But this film still had many flaws. It was a fun watch (though a little long) and I was happy to see Rocket fleshed out so much more. It was good, just very busy...There is way too much trying to be done here. Also Warlock was basically a nothing character.

Also why did it have to end with a dance party?